Junkbots Mini-sumo Planning Notes

One of the projects in the Junkbots, Bugbots, and Bots on Wheels book is a relay-based mini-sumo. We had learned a bit from other projects by the time we made it here, and were interested in implementing some of our ideas. Perhaps the most important idea stems from the following three observations: 1) building the body often takes the most time; 2) motors and batteries are often the costliest items; 3) there are some terrific mini-sumo Beam circuits worth trying. We decided to build the Junkbots mini-sumo as a re-useable platform. The goal was to be able to swap in different circuits, and reuse the sensors, motors, and batteries.

Mechanically, the main difference between the Junkbots Mini-sumo and ours is the use of roller lever SPDT switches. These serve as both the front wheels and edge detectors. From an asthetics point-of-view, these roller switches give the mini-sumo a retro, hotrod appearance.

The switches we used were from Radio Shack, part number 275-017A. These switches improved our edge detection at the added cost of $6.